This invention relates to soil fertilizer systems and, in particular, to the distribution of fluid fertilizer into the soil while passing a sweep blade through the soil to destroy weeds. In this way, two important functions, destroying weeds and fertilizing the soil, are performed in one pass of the fields.
Fertilizer in the form of ammonia or other liquid fertilizer is conveyed to the below-ground sweep blade(s) by piping from a tank mounted on a frame for the blade or in a nurse tank trailing the blade. Unless the below-ground piping is protected, damage to the piping by erosion and abrasion due to being drawn through dirt and rock can result in an undesirable distribution of the fertilizer into the soil.
For many types of conventional distribution piping, the piping is often destroyed by the frictional action of rocks and soil within one day of service or less. In other conventional systems where the piping has had some protection, such systems usually provide for only limited outlets or are expensive and not easily adapted to varying conditions.